The Minnesota Whitecaps are the only team in history to win both the Clarkson Cup and Isobel Cup, and they survived longer than any other club. They are set to potentially become a lost piece of women's hockey history.

When the PHF was acquired, it marked the end of seven franchises. One of those clubs, however, the Minnesota Whitecaps, has impacted hockey history more than any of the teams seeing their run end. The Whitecaps, after all, were the longest standing professional women's hockey franchise in North America.

The Whitecaps long predated the NWHL and PHF, and played an integral role in the development of professional women's hockey in North America. Founded in 2004 as members of the Western Women's Hockey League, the Whitecaps appeared in six of seven championship games in league history, losing their first three appearances, before winning the WWHL title three times between 2008 and 2011. The 2009-2010 season saw the Whitecaps defeat the Brampton Thunder 4-0 to take a Clarkson Cup. That roster featured USA Hockey legends Julie Chu, Jenny Potter, Winny Brodt, and Angela Ruggiero. Chu was named the Clarkson Cup MVP.

Leading up to the 2010 Olympic Games, Team USA named nine former Whitecaps to their Olympic roster including Potter, Ruggiero, Chu, Natalie Darwitz, Caitlin Cahow, Molly Engstrom, Lisa Chesson, Jinelle Zaugg-Siergiej and Karen Thatcher

Following the dissolution of the WWHL in 2011, the Whitecaps remained playing, competing as an independent club. Following several seasons of exhibition play, the Whitecaps finally found a new league joining the new iteration of the NWHL and later PHF in 2018. During their first season, the Whitecaps beat the Buffalo Beauts 2-1 in overtime to win an Isobel Cup. They are the only team in hockey history to win both the Clarkson Cup and Isobel Cup.

The team was founded by Jack Brodt and Dwayne Schmidgall to give their daughters, Winny Brodt and Jenny Potter a place to play following their NCAA careers. The franchise itself survived multiple league dissolutions to provide a constant presence for professional women's hockey players in America. 

Throughout the years, many legendary players have worn the Minnesota Whitecaps sweater. That list includes Hockey Hall of Fame members Angela Ruggiero and Caroline Ouellette, along with USA Hockey Hall of Fame members Jenny Potter and Natalie Darwitz.

In 2022-2023, the Whitecaps played in what would become, unbeknownst to the players, the final season of the PHF. After finishing fourth in the PHF's regular season standings, the Whitecaps upset the Boston Pride in the opening round of the playoff before falling 4-3 to the Toronto Six in the Isobel Cup final.

While the new professional women's hockey league marks a new era in the sport, it also marks the end of an era. When the PHF was acquired by the Mark Walter Group and Billie Jean King Enterprises, as were the brands of the league, which includes the Minnesota Whitecaps. Unless the new owners decide to keep the Whitecaps alive, this legendary franchise in women's hockey history will become just that...history.